By Kate Gibbons
There are many reasons that people become Catholic in adulthood. Their journeys are as varied as the experiences that led them to the Catholic faith, but for me it was my children that led me to the Church.
Having enrolled my eldest child in a Catholic primary school, I attended my first Mass in 2015. Instantly, I was inspired. I loved the rituals and symbols of the Mass, even though I didn’t know what any of them meant! So I began to read. With my oldest child, we read about the parts of mass, the important places in the church, and the liturgical seasons and colours. I began to include religious elements into our Easter and Christmas celebrations, small things at first, like reading the Easter story at bedtime during Holy Week, and including a nativity scene in our Christmas decorations.
The following year, we made the decision to have our 3 children baptised in our parish. We started to attend Mass outside of our school-supported sessions, participating in Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday services. My eldest child received his sacraments of confirmation, first communion and reconciliation, and then graduated to a Catholic secondary school. At the same time, I volunteered to help with Children’s Liturgy, and then began teaching at a Catholic school; on reflection it seemed that God was steering me on the path to Catholicism all along!
Again, it was my children that gave me the final push towards RCIA; my middle child was to be confirmed and so we had the opportunity to prepare for our sacraments together. We attended Mass together, we learned the Apostles Creed together, and chose our confirmation names together! I could think of no more powerful way to demonstrate faith to my children than by standing beside them and professing it in unity.
My life and my work had enabled me to explore much of the Catholic teachings, so as part of catechumenate period I signed up the Alpha program. This gave me the opportunity to discuss faith – how to live it, how to make time for it, and how to pass it on to those around me. Many of my questions during our Alpha sessions were whether I was ‘doing it right!’ What I came to realise, with the help of the wonderful members of our parish community and our exceptional parish priest Father Nev, was that ‘right’ looked different for different people, and would look different at different stages in my life. I found in Alpha reassurance that my version of faith, which had come to me later in life, was just as valid as those that had been living the Catholic values since childhood. I also found that it was okay to still have questions. While my RCIA journey may be complete, my faith journey is just beginning. And that is exciting!
